Home Master Index
←Prev   Job 31 as rendered by/in  Next→ 


31:1  I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.
31:2  What does Almighty God do to us? How does he repay human deeds?
31:3  He sends disaster and ruin to those who do wrong.
31:4  God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.
31:5  I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others.
31:6  Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am.
31:7  If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin,
31:8  then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.
31:9  If I have been attracted to my neighbor's wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door,
31:10  then let my wife cook another man's food and sleep in another man's bed.
31:11  Such wickedness should be punished by death.
31:12  It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.
31:13  When any of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat them fairly.
31:14  If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me?
31:15  The same God who created me created my servants also.
31:16  I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair
31:17  or let orphans go hungry while I ate.
31:18  All my life I have taken care of them.
31:19  When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes,
31:20  I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.
31:21  If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court,
31:22  then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.
31:23  Because I fear God's punishment, I could never do such a thing.
31:24  I have never trusted in riches
31:25  or taken pride in my wealth.
31:26  I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.
31:27  I have not been led astray to honor them by kissing my hand in reverence to them.
31:28  Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.
31:29  I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster;
31:30  I never sinned by praying for their death.
31:31  All those who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers.
31:32  I invited travelers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets.
31:33  Others try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine.
31:34  I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn.
31:35  Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them,
31:36  I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown.
31:37  I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence.
31:38  If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners—
31:39  if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve—
31:40  then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow. The words of Job are ended.